Lozzer86

Small Neodymium Magnets 1 in each corner, countersunk and hot glued into the foam, then corresponding ones glued onto the faceplate with CA. It's got plenty of hold (not forgetting that my pack has a strap that goes all the way round the front too).

Here's a random selection of build pictures from my phone if it helps anyone

Thanks guys Trooping tomorrow, so will report back on the difference. Hopefully it will make it easier on the longer troops !

*** UPDATES **** Here she is finished !!!! (Sorry, we did a massive fast forward as I only had 2 days to complete it between troops) This was actually harder than I thought. It's not the construction (removing weight but keeping it light), it's the sourcing of lightweight versions of the same components.... I must have spent 3 hours picking up bits of pipe and checking their weight against other similar pipes in my local hardware store. You also need to me mindful of OD and ID when ordering stuff. Not everyone makes it entirely clear what a 2 1/2" pipe is, and it can be widely out ! Things that cannot be changed or lightened; 1. The aluminium Karrimor frame 2. The Radio Faceplate (because I love the quality) Things that can be lightened; Everything else So everything else was lightened by removing material from unseen areas, using nylon bolts instead of metal, replacing existing items with lighter weight versions. As an example, my Mortar Tube was made from 'solvent weld' pipe and was held onto the frame with metal hardware. It is now held on with cable ties. The old pipe had a specific pressure rating for use in plumbing applications, so the walls were quite thick. By replacing this pipe with a similar outer diameter (OD) of a plastic postal tube, I saved a lot of weight. Same goes for the lab pipe ! You'd be surprised between all the different weights between waste pipes My foam radio saved a lot of weight too. I didn't weigh everything individually, but each component was was taken down to it's absolute bare minimum to keep it as light as possible. This went as far as using the minimum amount of pleather for the wrap around. I even cut the top off the antenna and glued it in place, as that's the only part you can see. No extra touches on the radio, no steel wire, no feet, no din socket etc. Again, it's grams we are looking at saving. I removed plastic from behind the air filter box and tool box on the seed tray areas, only used the shell of the air box (not the lid), even cut out the back of the tool box to save a gram here and there. The seed trays were fixed to the frame with nylon bolts and glued together with E6000. Again, all in the pursuit of weight saving I removed lots of material from the rear of the seed trays, but still keeping them strong... I told you it was going to be drastic !!!!!!! I won't go into why cutting circles retains the strength, but it does if done correctly. This was an old trick from my racing days Again, it's only grams saved, but all the grams add up. Then I covered the holes with adhesive felt. I also upgraded my Radar Dish to a more accurate smaller sized one and added the much sought after toilet syphon. The radar dish backing pad and radome were made of nylon instead of rubber to save even more weight. Even the toilet syphon had a shave before it was bolted to the seed tray (again, with Nylon bolts). And the end result of this extreme diet ??????? 3.84 Kilograms !!!!! (8.58lb) including all parts, straps and ammo pouch Heres a comparison from my old vs new pack weight. So against my old pack, I saved almost 2 and a half kilos and it's still just as strong

Welcome on board

Thank you, brother

Thanks guys. Everyone's real busy as its nearly Christmas, so it might take a while to get feedback

Thanks everyone

4.2kgs is quite a bit less than mine. I don't have a target weight, I'm going for the surprised approach

Have faith, brother ! The top tray of my current pack has some lengths of wood behind the front of it, so that I could screw in the Exhaust Port and Tool Box. All that can go I used steel fixings to hold everything together, this time we'll use Nylon nuts and bolts.... There's plenty of small savings that could add up to a big difference

Ok, here's our benchmark ! My full size Pack #3 weighs an impressive ...... 6.23 KG or 13 lbs and 11.76 Oz. I'm not sure how that stacks up against other Pack 3's, but I do know how it feels after 3 hours on the shoulders I'm up for any suggestions folks, so if you have a great weight saving idea.... let's hear it !

A gram here, a gram there

Right, on to business.... Let's go part by part and see if we can shave some serious weight down Number 1, The Radio... My new radio will basically be a block of high density foam, with CrashMann's faceplate. The hole in the middle is for a self powered, rechargeable MP3 Bluetooth speaker that i've stripped down, removed the weight from and rewired to trigger from an external switch. It starts to play as soon as the external switch is activated. Doing it this way, has cut down the need for external batteries and circuit boards. I removed the bulk of the weight from this MP3 speaker by removing the outer steel cover and top mesh. I replaced that with a small piece of lightweight pipe to amplify the sound. Here it is, inserted into the foam block... Once this foam block has the radio faceplate attached and a pleather wrap around, it'll be indistinguishable from any other radio. But it'll weigh considerably less. I can't do a weight comparison yet, as I need to troop in a TFA launch before I start disassembling my Move Along Pack. More to come

Time for something a little different ! When I built my 'Move Along' Pack, it was built to last (probably indefinitely), but that made it really heavy to wear. Now that I've built it, I've come to realise that I could have made tremendous weight savings with a lot of the components.... So I've set myself the task of building a replica Pack 1 that's as light as I can possibly make it. This is the Pack we are aiming for.... It's seen a couple of times in ANH (Road Block, Falcon Take Off) and worn primarily by a Private with the black pauldron. I chose this pack because it's missing a couple of items (Exhaust Port, Bottle from the bottom of the Syphon etc.) which already reduces the weight. It's also got a really short mortar tube length. So this is my target... Make this Pack as light as humanly possible !!! This will be my build thread. I hope you enjoy it

Thanks guys. I wanted to get at least 1 troop under my belt before going for PO to make sure nothing falls apart Fortunately, nothing did !

ID: TD-33751 Name: Lee McCormack Forum: Machine Unit: Britannia Patrol of the UK Garrison 501st Profile: http://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=19846 Adjustments made to sniper plate on Smally's request for initial approval; Hoping that these shots meet with your approval, Thanks, Lee (Machine).

Respectfully requesting SandTrooper Section Access; Lee McCormack MACHINE - TD33751 UK Garrison - Britannia Patrol http://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=19846

Yesterday, I got cleared !! You never know... make a few more tweaks and I might even go for PO

Thanks Nick, I can't wait to get trooping now

Guys and girls, I think we have finished enough for my basic clearance. My application is in and (fingers crossed) I'll have my TD id soon. Here's some submitted shots.... Hopefully see you all in the Cantina

Use a stencil and paint it buddy. That way, if you wanted to go PO later, you're already done

Thanks Nick. I've got a 120ltr on order

Thanks Buddy

Friends, Can anyone suggest a link to a nice inconspicuous cover to transport my Fieldpack on troops ? I bought the biggest one I could..... it fits over the pack and has an elasticated opening, but it's just a bit too small and unless I poke a hole in it to allow the stinger out, it just won't fit. Most of the covers i've seen come in sizes measured by the litre ? 60ltr, 80ltr, 100ltr and so on... But I have no idea how much of a 'Litre' our packs are..... Any help would be appreciated

Didn't even know you could get those Basic soldering is definately a good thing to learn, and with a bit of practice you'll be making all kinds of stuff ! My OCD kicks in when I have cables that are too long. That's why I pretty much make all my own. As the switches in Crashmann's kit are real 2 position slide switches, it makes sense to use them With armour on, I can actually reach my arm around the fieldpack and switch it on and off by myself.